FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 8, 2009

PRESS/MEDIA CONTACT: Kate Bernyk Press Office: 609-633-8507

DCF Expands Home Visitation Programs to Support New Families and Prevent Child Abuse 
New Jersey awards five agencies with federal grant funding

TRENTON - Continuing New Jersey's statewide child abuse prevention effort, Department of Children and Families (DCF) Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts announced today grants for five community agencies totaling $2.5 million over the next four years for DCF’s Home Visitation Initiative, a program that promotes positive parenting and the healthy growth and development of infants and children.

"New Jersey has been incredibly fortunate to have the unprecedented support of Governor Jon Corzine and the Legislature to establish and expand statewide child abuse prevention and family support services, and we are proud to continue this positive trend," DCF Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts said. "It is evidence-based programs like home visitation that will help reduce the number of children who are abused or neglected in New Jersey, and help build strong, independent families."

The grants will either establish new programs or support existing services in New Jersey providing primary child abuse prevention and early intervention services to young families challenged by complex health-related or social problems. The new programs will add an additional 230 slots to the statewide capacity, expanding the state's total capacity to serve over 2,500 families at any given time.

The majority of the funding for the awards announced today was made possible through a $2.5 million federal grant awarded to DCF by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The department, after submitting an application for the grant, was one of 17 national grantees awarded last October for home visitation expansion services.

Each of the awards will be supplemented by matching funds secured by the local agencies and two awardees will also be supported by $25,000 grants through the New Jersey Governor's Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee (JJDPC), which operates in relationship with the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC), the designated state agency.

In addition to these awards, DCF also recently selected Johns Hopkins University to conduct a five-year statewide evaluation and research study of the impact of the Home Visitation Initiative in New Jersey. The program evaluation will analyze state and local systems designed to reach families earlier, during pregnancy, and offer linkages to home visitation and other community services. The evaluation will also assess the state’s effectiveness in implementing national evidence-based home visitation models.

Over the last three years, DCF has more than doubled the number of available home visitation programs in New Jersey, making services available in all 21 counties. DCF currently supports three models of home visitation services:

• Nurse-Family Partnership - connects first-time pregnant women and new parents with nurse home visitors that provide health education and family support and ensure families have linkages to other available community services and supports. Services continue until the child reaches age two.
• Healthy Families - connects new and expectant parents with home visiting certified Family Support Workers who provide parenting education and supportive services and links families to existing social service and health care resources. Home visits continue until the child is age three.
• Parents as Teachers - connects pregnant women and families of young children to certified Parent Educators, providing early childhood parent education and early learning activities, and ensures families have linkages and referrals to community networks and resources.

All three programs help advance prevention initiatives promoted by DCF, including parenting skills, such as coping with a crying baby to prevent shaken baby syndrome and placing infants to sleep safely.
 
Below is a summary of the awardees, counties served and total amount of funding dedicated.

Awardee	Home Visitation Model	Counties Served	Total DCF 5-Year Award	Matching Funds Per Year
United Way of  Greater Union County	Nurse-Family Partnership	Union	$793,333	$70,000 Nicholson Foundation $25,000 JJDPC $20,000 (in kind)  Holy Redeemer Home Care
Hudson Perinatal Consortium, Inc.	Nurse-Family Partnership	Hudson	$793,333	$200,000 United Way of Hudson County $50,000 Hudson County Dept. of Human Svcs. $25,000 JJDPC
Caring for Kids, Inc.	Parents as Teachers	Cape May	$183,333	$40,000 (in kind) Cape Counseling
Prevent Child Abuse NJ	Linkages to existing HV programs	Essex	$573,667	$150,000 Nicholson Foundation
Central NJ Maternal and  Child Health Consortium, Inc.	Linkages to existing HV programs	Middlesex Somerset	$183,333	$10,000 United Way of Middlesex County

###